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Mr Saunders, also an Oxford-educated divorce lawyer whose past clients included Chris Tarrant, the host of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, was shot dead as he drunkenly waved a shotgun at a window with 59 armed officers surrounding his home.

The inquest in London in October heard that he had a drink problem and was a regular cocaine user.

A jury found that the seven officers who opened fire did so lawfully in “necessary and reasonable” self defence but pointed to a series of failings in the operation.

Sir Nicholas’s wife, Lucy, has instructed Frances Hughes, a leading divorce lawyer, to represent her but is understood to be reluctant to separate.

A close friend said she was “aghast” at the prospect of a divorce and had not ruled out hope of a reconciliation.

A spokesman for the Judicial Communications Office, which speaks on behalf of judges and magistrates, said: “He has got no comment to make.”